Are You Afraid Of The Dark?
by PrincessNala
Summary: ."Are you afraid of the dark, Gabriel?" She purred in his ear, tracing the outer shell with her tongue, "You really shouldn't have turned out the lights..." Sylar x Oc slight gore, adult situations. Rating may change.
1. Rae Freeman

**Heya everyone! Y'know, I've always wanted to do a Sylar x OC fic, but I've never really got round to it. BUT after working my way through the first, second and fourth series (I still need to buy the third :D ), I realised I couldn't resist the temptation any longer and wrote this bad boy! YEAH!**

**This was going to be a oneshot, but I've made it into a twoshot instead because it'd be too long otherwise. I'm going on holiday this week, so I doubt part two will be up here by then, but I'll upload it when I get back in two weeks! :D**

**I hope I got Sylar's character somewhere near how he really is. And yeah, me no own him or Heroes or anything in this fic other than the plot and the OCs, ok? So no suing. Ta.**

**This takes place about halfway through the fourth series episode "I am Sylar.", after he's killed that dude with the disintigration power but before he gets stabbed in the back of the neck by Danko, ok? Good.**

**Right then, read on folks, and give me a review to let me know what you think! Thanks! Onwards...**

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Impossibly cold dark brown eyes surveyed the surroundings impassively as their owner raised a drink to his lips, draining the alcohol with one long swallow before placing the glass back down on the tabletop. His fingers absently skimmed around the rim of the empty glass, a sneer on his face as he watched a group of four men sat around a table in the far corner, loudmouthed and blind drunk, try and fail to hit on a pretty young woman when she had the misfortune of walking past them. Well, hit on meaning literally, since one man, the leader at a guess, decided that to get the girl in question, a well-placed slap to her ass was the best solution. Needless to say, she was less than impressed.

Sylar grinned to himself, chuckling softly as he shook his head at the drunk's pathetic and not too subtle attempts at seduction. Although seduction was the wrong word, if the disgusting leer on his face had been anything to go by. Perversion might be closer to the truth.

He observed them from afar for a few moments more, smirking at the pretty girl's furious rebuke with a murderous look on her face that was so eerily similar to the one he wore when slicing open his victims' heads. Only hers was understandably less evil. Strangely, Sylar found himself noting that the homicidal expression actually suited her, but waved the thought away as soon as it came. After all, they can't all be serial killers like him, can they?

'_I wish they were,'_ He thought, scraping his fingernails over the smooth glass as he returned his attention to his own tabletop once more, _'At least then I'd have someone to relate to.'_

Sylar had never felt so lost and out of place. Not just in the fact that he was sat in a bar, drinking alone in the most shadowed corner he could find, surrounded by intoxicated and weak humans, but also in the war that raged between the rest of the world and people with abilities like him. Thanks to Senator Nathan Petrelli, a traitor to his own kind, they were all being hunted down like animals. Sylar wasn't worried. Why would he be? They'd never catch him. He was always three steps ahead of them, and that wasn't about to change anytime soon.

Being one of the superpowered race, Sylar should be standing in his rightful place alongside them, fighting against the likes of Emile Danko, the pale and cruel determined man leading his army of soldiers after Petrelli fell from grace. But why should he? Why should he help the people who despise and fear him? He didn't care about them. In fact, being the only person left alive with special abilities was such a wonderful notion to him. A notion which led him straight to Danko, but not the stop him. To help him.

And Sylar wouldn't have had any second thoughts about it if it weren't for that damn kid Micah, or Rebel as he calls himself. It was only a few hours ago that he'd chased that brat out of his apartment, yet he still couldn't forget what the kid had said as Sylar had been about to cut the top off his head and take his technopathic ability.

"_You can save us all."_

Yeah, right. What if he didn't _want _to save you all, little Micah? Did you think about that? No, you didn't.

But he was starting to question himself now. After finally sorting out his identity crisis at long last, he thought there'd be nothing else that could slow him down. Until Micah. Damn that kid! He should've killed the boy before he'd had the chance to open his mouth. Next time he wouldn't be so merciful.

Suddenly Sylar was abruptly ripped out of his thoughts by the sound of two bottles of beer being plonked down on his table. His head snapped up and he directed a glare more deadly than Hell itself at whoever had been stupid enough to disturb him, and who would no doubt end up lying facedown in a pool of their own blood before the night was over. Eyes of sparkling sapphire stared back, no fear whatsoever swirling in their endless blue depths.

"Hey." The stranger greeted, flashing Sylar a warm smile that mentally stopped him in his tracks. His obviously suicidal disturber was none other than the pretty young woman he'd watched with the drunk thugs not long ago. But this wasn't what threw him off. It was the fact that there wasn't a single ounce of fear radiating from her body. He'd just shot her a look that could've damn near killed her on the spot, but she didn't so much as twitch in apprehension. Even for people who didn't know exactly who and what he was, he still had a dangerous air about him that warned everyone within a five mile radius that he was not a friendly and approachable guy. And yet here she stood before him, still smiling as she pushed one of the bottles towards him.

"You look like you could do with a drink." She said, sitting herself down in the seat opposite him without being asked. She picked up the remaining bottle and brought it to her lips, her gaze not moving from his. Blue stared into brown almost unblinkingly, and Sylar didn't break eye contact with her. Not that he would've done anyway, no matter who sat opposite him, but in this case he was trying to figure out as much as he could about this woman via her cerulean eyes. He had always had a knack for working out exactly what makes people tick, so to speak. But those twin pools of cerulean gave absolutely nothing away.

"And some company." She tilted the bottle and swallowed a mouthful of beer.

Sylar realised that he hadn't actually said a single word to the unusual fearless woman yet, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He wasn't used to this. Even when he was pretending to be good, people still treated him with trepidation and gave him a wide berth. His eyebrows furrowed together as he surveyed her steadily with narrowed eyes, his fierce frown hiding his uncertainty.

She lowered her glass and smiled at him again, succeeding in further deepening his frown.

"I'm Rae. Rae Freeman." She introduced herself, extending one hand across the table for him to take. Sylar hesitated for a split second before reaching out to shake her hand firmly, squeezing a little tighter than was necessary to warn her of his strength. Her hand felt so soft and delicate in his larger palm, but she returned the shake with equal force, not intimidated the slightest. Yet another thing about this woman that made Sylar frown. _Rae Freeman._ Rae Freeman? Nope, he hadn't heard of her before. Nor had he met her before. Strange.

"Gabriel Gray." Sylar found himself saying, then realised that he'd unintentionally revealed his real name to the mysterious Miss Freeman. He internally cursed himself. He knew he should've shapeshifted into someone else before he left his apartment, but after spending the day shifting into his late mother and back, he wanted to be himself for a while. The last thing he needed right now was for someone to recognise him before he had chance to meet the President tomorrow in his disguise of Nathan Petrelli. But it was too late for that. He'd come to this bar as Sylar.

Rae's smile widened and they broke their handshake.

"Gabriel Gray? I like that name. It suits you." She said. Sylar lifted his bottle to drink, letting a small smirk twitch the corners of his mouth as he did so.

'_If you think that name suits me, you should hear my other one.'_

"Thank you." He said aloud, acknowledging her compliment with a slight nod of his head. A single lock of her hair fell to sweep against the lightly tanned skin of her cheek and she tucked it back behind her ear, her eyes still fixed on his. It was almost as though she was trying to do the same thing he was. In fact, he felt sure that that was exactly what she was attempting to do. She was trying to figure him out. Him! Sylar! That wasn't going to happen. Many others had tried, and all had failed. This woman wasn't going to be the exception. His dark brown eyes were as unreadable as the rest of his face.

"No problem."

Sylar tilted his head to one side with mild interest as he scanned his gaze over Rae Freeman. She was even more attractive up close, with sunkissed caramel skin and those bottomless sparkling eyes framed with thick curtains of long dark lashes and outlined with kohl. Her hair cascaded down past her shoulders in lucious waves of a rich chocolate brown colour. She was a good six inches shorter than he was, maybe even less, and was slim with curves in all the right places. She looked almost too delicate and easily breakable, but from the strength of her grip in that handshake, her size was obviously deceptive. Sylar had to admit she was quite a beautiful woman, but what was another pretty face to him? Beauty didn't always run skin-deep, and could hide some pretty ugly secrets beneath the surface. He had yet to work out if the same could be said of the curious Miss Freeman, since her poker face at that moment could rival his own.

Her clothes were simple, casual, but she wore them well and they looked good on her. Her dark blue jeans fitted her shapely legs like a glove, and a silver-studded black leather belt rested low on her hips. On her top half she wore a plain black strappy vest top beneath an unzipped black jacket, and had a silver stud in each ear lobe and an intricately decorated silver bracelet around her right wrist. Around her throat was a choker that looked to be made of black lace, a small gothic cross dangling down from the middle of it, resting against her chest. Yes, Rae Freeman certainly wore her clothes very well. She looked good enough to eat, but many things as Sylar was; a cannibal was not one of them. Contrary to a certain blonde cheerleader's assumption that he would eat her brain to steal her ability to regenerate. And that was, even to him, rather disgusting.

"I haven't seen you around these parts before." His newest drinking companion stated, bringing him out of his thoughts as she absently scraped lightly over her bottom lip with one black-painted fingernail. Apparently black seemed to be her favourite colour. If black even counts as a colour. "Have you just moved here?"

Sylar didn't answer, still scrutinising her with his hawk-like stare. He wanted to unnerve her. He wanted to hear her steady heatbeat quicken and watch the fear seep into her calm eyes. The last person who had been anywhere remotely close to being unafraid of him had been Isaac Mendez, a man who could paint the future. The only reason he hadn't been as scared as many other victims before and after him was because he had forseen his death at Sylar's hands and had accepted his fate, knowing he couldn't change the future his paintings showed. Even then, pinned to the floor by his own paintbrushes as he had the top of his skull seperated from his body, he had died in fear. Sylar wondered if this woman would too if he chose to kill her tonight.

Rae scowled slightly, the first crack in her otherwise serene demeanour.

"Y'know, I didn't come over here just to talk to myself." She said, sounding a little annoyed at his lack of response.

Sylar smirked openly and leaned forwards in his seat, slowly tracing a finger around the neck of his bottle in a way that was both casual yet threatening at the same time.

"And why did you come over here?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at her in amusement. To his surprise, Rae shot back a smirk of her own, flicking her long tresses deftly back over one shoulder. She held up three fingers.

"Three reasons."

Sylar leaned back in his seat again, taking his drink with him.

"Enlighten me." He said over the rim of the bottle he held. Rae's grin widened as she tipped one finger, her long eyelashes feathering her cheekbones every time she blinked. To be honest, as his gaze was unconsciously drawn to the thick black lashes resting against the golden brown skin, Sylar found it a little distracting, but he said nothing of it.

"Ok. One: You're one of the few people in here sat drinking alone. Although that permanent 'fuck off' you've got tattooed all over your forehead probably has something to do with that, but whatever. I thought I'd give you someone to drink with."

The corners of Sylar's lips twitched, his smirk threatening to resurface and spread across his face. So she had noticed how hostile he'd looked, but still approached him anyway. Interesting. He sipped his beer, waiting for her to continue.

"Two: Out of everyone, you're without a doubt the most sober. When you need some intelligent conversation, it doesn't happen all that often when the guy's so intoxicated he's practically comatose and he spends half the time drooling and staring down your chest. Trust me, it gets annoying after a while. As does some of the other idiotic things they do to get your attention." Rae scowled again and broke off there. She shot a venomous glare over to the table of four men in the corner before returning her attention to the drink in her hand. She glared down at that too and muttered under her breath, "My ass still hurts."

Sylar chuckled, unable to hold back a grin at her words. Rae glanced up at him and raised her eyebrows, pouting slightly. She looked annoyed, but he could see the first sparkles of mirth glittering just beneath the surface of those deep cobalt eyes.

"Well, it does!" She protested indignantly, her own lips twitching as she fought back a smile. Sylar shook his head, amused at the young woman's irritation. Well, as unexpected and unwanted as this recent company had been, Sylar couldn't deny that he was almost starting to enjoy himself. Rae Freeman was certainly as entertaining as she was mysterious. Perhaps today wouldn't be a total waste after all.

"And three?" Sylar pressed in subtle encouragement for her to go on with her reasons. Rae looked at him blankly for a moment, one hand reaching up almost unconsciously to tweak the cross at her throat.

"What?"

"You said there were three reasons."

"Oh, right. Three: Well…" She hesitated a few seconds, suddenly becoming extremely interested with the fingernails of her other hand resting by her drink on the tabletop and she took a slightly firmer grip on her cross. Sylar cocked an eyebrow at her, but she missed it. She looked up to find him staring at her expectantly and a sudden rush of pink dusted her cheeks. She was blushing! Sylar sat up a little straighter in his chair, his interest spiked even more than before.

"Well?"

"Oh, alright! You're an attractive guy, ok? And I wanted to see if you were as unapproachable as you looked. To be honest, you do like kinda scary and fairly dangerous. No offence."

For the first time tonight, Sylar grinned broadly at Rae, which succeeded in making her blush turn a few shades deeper and she averted her gaze from his. Oh he was really starting to enjoy himself now. Rae shifted subtly in her seat, looking a little uncomfortable at the silence between them.

"None taken," Sylar said, still grinning as he broke the hush with his deep baritone voice. Rae glanced up at him through her eyelashes almost demurely and gave him a shy smile, her cheeks still flushed rose petal pink. Unable to resist, he leaned forwards again and took pleasure at seeing her move back ever so slightly. A small triumph on his part. He was starting to break down her barriers. Excellent.

"Although…" His voice turned into a silky smooth purr that made a small shudder ripple down her spine, a shudder so small that it would've otherwise passed unnoticed if Sylar hadn't been so fiercely focused on seeing it. His grin widened by a couple of molars. "If I really look so dangerous, why did you come over here and start a conversation with me. For all you know, I could be dangerous. Maybe _more_ than dangerous."

The hints he dropped were so precariously close to revealing his true self to her, but at that moment he couldn't care less. He was a hunter by nature, trusting his instincts to make sure he always caught his prey. He'd latched onto Rae Freeman now, and he wasn't about to let her escape him.

But once more Rae surprised him by doing something he hadn't expected as she laughed delightedly, tossing her pretty head as she rocked back on her chair, her unfathomable eyes gleaming as they stared into his.

"Hey, what can I say? I've always loved taking risks. Without them, life would just be _so_ boring. I live on the edge, Gabriel. And I love it." She smiled, winking at him as she took another drink.

'_I couldn't have put it better myself.'_ Sylar thought.

Rae's expression suddenly sobered up, her eyes losing their previous playful twinkle and filling instead with sadness as she gently grazed her fingernails over the smooth side of Sylar's empty glass from earlier that was still sat on the tabletop between them.

"My dad used to call me his little Daredevil." She murmured, almost to herself. Sylar inclined his head, intrigued. Rae glanced up and gave him another small smile, taking his silent indication to continue.

"When I was younger, I was forever climbing trees and jumping off walls and all sorts of stupid stuff like that. Gave myself all kinds of injuries in the progress, but I didn't care. I loved all the excitement and adventure. Anything potentially dangerous or hazardous, I just couldn't keep away from, and my parents couldn't keep me away from it either."

She chuckled softly, shaking her head in amusement at something Sylar couldn't comprehend, most likely a thought that just occurred to her. Or maybe just some remembrance of her childhood. Sylar's own childhood had been far from a happy one. Being sold by his own father was hardly a high point in his life. Nor was witnessing the same father murder his mother. He didn't want to remember things like that. Not now. He was so close to achieving everything he had set out to attain. He was meeting the President tomorrow, and he needed all the focus he had to ensure everything ran according to plan. His plan.

"My mom always went mad whenever I came home with more bruises and scrapes than I'd started off with. She told me I'd end up seriously hurting myself one day, and not to come crying to her when I did. But my dad always stuck up for me, even encouraged me I suppose. He was an adventurous kind of guy too. Mom didn't understand the thrill of danger, but dad did, and that's probably why I got on a lot better with my dad than I did with her. She didn't like that, though. My mom was a _major_ control freak."

As much as Sylar didn't want to hear happy childhood memories that he himself lacked, he couldn't help but be drawn into Rae's story. But maybe part of his interest came from the fact that he could already see, just by the look on her face, that this story wouldn't be one that had a happy ending. Her eyes gave that much away even before her mouth got round to telling it.

"I was the second born of three children, so naturally I didn't get as much attention as my older brother or my younger sister. I didn't mind though. I was pretty much an independent child and I liked to spend time on my own rather with other people. I didn't have many friends because I didn't want any. I didn't _need _any. I was fine by myself.

"Anyway, my mom adored my brother and sister, and spoiled them beyond belief. Dad shared his affection equally between the three of us, but oh no, not my mom. I was a disappointment to her, that was pretty much obvious every time she looked at me. Not that that stopped her telling me how disappointed she was either."

Rae looked angry now, and Sylar could see the barely repressed hatred in the azure depths of her eyes and the tightening of her jaw. Her expression was so intense that Sylar found himself feeling ever so slightly uncomfortable in her presence. Rae's hands had curled into fists on top of the table, her knuckles stark pearly white from the tension.

"As I got older, me and mom didn't see eye to eye on practically anything and everything, so that didn't exactly improve our relationship. I've lost count of how many times me and her would have a full out shouting match in the living room, with my dad, brother and sister watching from the sidelines. No one could stop us when we got started. In fact, it took a fucking miracle for my mother to actually shut her mouth at all. She was that type of woman. I _hated _her."

Rae suddenly looked up, fixing her gaze on Sylar's own hypnotic rich brown eyes with a mischievous smile playing across her lips. It was such a swift transformation from the burning hatred in her features a few seconds ago that Sylar wondered how the Hell she managed to change her mood so damn quickly. Must be a woman thing.

"So that's why I did whatever I could to piss her off. I was so bad, it was unreal. No wonder she was tearing her hair out by the time I'd turned sixteen. I remember, Amara, my sister, oh she had such a fear of the dark. Pretty ironic, actually. Now I loved my sister so much, but I just couldn't help teasing her about it. I suppose it was almost cruel in a way, but God it really got under my mom's skin like nothing else, so of course, I did it quite often." Rae laughed, absently twirling a lock of her russet hair between her fingers. Then she sighed heavily, turning serious once more.

"I think it was mostly because of me that my parents split up. There were other reasons too, but I was the main one. Because of the tension between mom and me, it caused tension between mom and dad too. I messed up their marriage, and I messed up our family. I messed up everything, basically."

She fell silent and Sylar blinked, frowning in confusion, but before he could say anything, she sat back in her chair and raised her drink to her lips.

"The end." She muttered, gulping down a mouthful of beer. Her bottle was now about half empty, as was his.

Sylar raised an eyebrow at her.

"The end?" He repeated.

"Yeah, the end." Rae said, meeting his gaze. "I've already bored you with my family problems. The rest of it is just as boring. You don't want to hear it, and I don't want to tell it. So let's leave it at that."

She was holding back. Sylar could tell there was something she wasn't telling him, but he didn't give any indication of it and instead let a brief but sincere smile flicker across his features.

"You haven't bored me. I found it… interesting." He said truthfully. Rae blinked in surprise.

"Interesting? Really?"

"Yes."

"Ah, well. Thanks, but history stays history for me. No point dwelling in the past, huh? Let's get back to the present. You never answered my question by the way." Rae smiled, pointing a finger at him teasingly. Sylar frowned again, tilting his head in thought. He hadn't missed how swiftly she'd changed the subject to a safer topic, but decided to just go along with it. After all, there was plenty of time for prying and discovery later.

"Which question was that?" He asked, then grinned, "And it's in the past now, so what does it matter?"

Rae mock-frowned at him and pouted again, a trait that Sylar was beginning to find most endearing.

"Alright, Smartass." She responded, her voice dripping with good-natured sarcasm as she flicked a lone beer mat across the table at him. It struck him on the arm then span off the table and onto the floor. Sylar laughed.

Rae laughed with him for a few moments before she put her bottle back down, leaning forwards so her elbows rested on the table and her chin rested on her hands.

"Ok, seriously now. Back to my first question. I haven't seen you around here before, and trust me; I hang out here a lot. Do you live here, or are you just passing through?" She inquired, smiling at him. Sylar considered how much he should tell her. He knew he couldn't tell the truth, that he was a superpowered serial killer set on becoming President of the United States and ultimately ruling the world. She'd never believe that. Hell, if he were in her shoes, _he_ wouldn't believe it either. And if she did believe him, she'd realise just how much danger she was in and how big a mistake she made in talking to him. She'd try to run, and he'd have to hunt her down and kill her, to make sure she kept her silence. It always ended the same, and for some odd reason, he didn't want it to end the same with her. Rae Freeman was honestly unlike anyone he'd ever met before.

He relaxed back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head.

"I think I kind of like it here. I might stick around for a while." He said casually, inwardly smirking to himself. Oh yes, he'll be sticking around here for _quite a while_. But not as they knew him.

One of Rae's hands started fiddling with the cross at her throat again. It seemed to be a nervous habit of hers. Another endearing trait.

"Good." She smiled, her eyes twinkling in the dim glow from the lights in the bar. There was a comfortable silence for a moment, and Sylar took this time to reach down and pick up the beer mat from the floor, and as he did so he caught sight of Rae's shoes. Black Converse sneakers. Nice. The girl's got style in footwear, that's for sure.

"Well then, Gabriel Gray. Aren't you going to tell me about yourself? Is your past as sordid as mine?" She joked when he straightened up and put the beer mat back on the table.

'_Oh, you have no idea.'_

He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her the truth about everything. He had no idea why, but he wanted to spill his secrets to her. His childhood, growing up as the son of a watchmaker, becoming a watchmaker himself, meeting Dr Chandra Suresh and finding out about the race of people with abilities, connected by an anomaly in their genes. Being rejected by Suresh when his testing on Sylar proved indeterminate, his first kill, stealing the power of telekinesis from a man named Brian Davies. He wanted to tell her about all the others he's killed, the guilt he felt at first that gradually numbed and become enjoyment, the thrill of the kill so intoxicating, the hunger for power overwhelming him. He wanted to tell her everything, his loss of powers and the cure that brought them back, meeting Alejandro and Maya Herrera in Mexico, disposing of Alejandro and playing on Maya's unrequited love for him to manipulate her. He even wanted to tell her of his brief time working for the company, under the belief that Angela Petrelli was his mother. Meeting Elle, developing feelings for Elle, killing Elle. Everything he'd buried in the past wanted to resurface. Rae would listen. She would be sympathetic. She would _understand_…

Who was he kidding? She wouldn't understand. She couldn't! Nobody could! _Nobody_ understood what it was like being Sylar! And nobody ever will.

A warm hand fell to cover his own, instantly tearing him from his thoughts.

"Gabriel?" Rae said, concern swimming in her topaz eyes, "Are you ok?"

Before he could answer, or even realise that her hand was on his, a huge fist pummelled down onto the tabletop and if Sylar hadn't been so adept at controlling his emotions, he would've jumped up in shock. Needless to say, Rae's hand swiftly left his.

Their heads snapped up simultaneously and they found themselves staring at a thickset man with muscles so huge that he looked easily capable of snapping Sylar like a twig if he wanted to. And Sylar seriously hoped he would try. It'd be fun, to say the least, considering that if he did, Sylar would be able to regenerate right before his eyes.

There were four other men behind the first, and Sylar recognised them as the group of drunks in the corner previously. Although they weren't in the corner any more. Obviously they'd come over to play. _Excellent_.

"You!" The first man snarled, stabbing his stubby finger at Sylar, "You stay away from my girl!"

He wasn't a particularly ugly man, but he stank of sweat and alcohol, his face flushed with both anger and drink. He was unsteady on his feet and swayed slightly, but that wasn't about to stop him from picking this fight. Sylar was about to make sure he sincerely regretted that soon.

"Your girl?" Sylar repeated, turning to raise a questioning eyebrow at Rae. The responding look on her face clearly read: _'I'd rather die'._ He bit back a grin and turned back to find the drunk much closer in his personal space than he was comfortable with.

"Look, just go away and leave us alone, will you?" Rae growled at the man. He moved his attention from Sylar to Rae and leered disgustingly. Rae's lip curled in open repulsion and Sylar felt a rush of annoyance towards the drunk, his hands slowly clenching into fists where they rested on the table.

"C'mon, beautiful. Let's ditch this loser and you can come home with me, what d'you say?" The man smirked crookedly, licking his lips pointedly at her. The meaning was obvious, and that only caused Rae's disgusted look to deepen and Sylar's irritation to increase.

"Sorry, but that's not going to happen." Rae spat back, "The only loser I'm trying to ditch here is _you_."

The drunken thug's eyes narrowed and the leer left his face to be replaced with an expression of ferocious rage. The men behind him all made warning growling noises, like his own personal pack of guard dogs. To be honest, they looked so intoxicated that probably the only reason they were growling was because they weren't sober enough to form a single comprehensive sentence between them.

"You're coming with us, bitch!" The leader snarled, and before either Sylar or Rae could react, the drunk's arm shot out and he seized hold of Rae's wrist, yanking her roughly to her feet as she cried out in a mixture of pain, shock and outrage.

The man looked as though he fully intended to forcibly drag her from the bar. Only he never got that far. He hissed in pain as his own wrist was slammed down onto the tabletop and held there by someone unbelievably strong. Sinister dark brown eyes glared into his frightened hazel ones, immeasurable amounts of hostility and murderous threat directed straight at him, eating through his drunken stupor as realisation swiftly dawned that this hadn't been one of his best ideas, and would undoubtedly get him killed. In fact, there was no undoubtedly about it. Sylar had risen from his chair and acted with the complete intention to slaughter this man where he stood.

He knew it would be unwise to lose control in here, surrounded by so many people, but he could feel blazing fury filling up inside him. Oh, he wanted to kill this man. He wanted it _so_ much.

Rae had been released by the thug when Sylar had intervened, and she found herself standing a little behind him, protected from reach and view by his body. She made to move forwards but Sylar's free arm held her back at a safe distance. Unable to do anything else but watch, Rae placed her hand on his arm that kept her back. Sylar was sure he could feel the warmth of her touch even through the material of his long sleeved shirt and jacket, and he was glad of it. It helped him reign in a little of his rage and keep himself in check. For now.

"I think you should leave." Sylar spoke to the drunk, his voice low and even, yet it was impossible to ignore the dark and threatening undertones that lurked just beneath the surface. He gripped a little tighter on the wrist he held and took brutal satisfaction at the sound of the bones and tendons grinding harshly together. If he were normal and powerless like every other insignificant human in the world, he would be nowhere near strong enough to subdue this drunken brute. But he wasn't human. With his powers, he was capable of just about anything.

The thug panted, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. None of his 'guard dogs' had made a single move to protect him. They all looked as scared as their boss. They could tell that something wasn't right. Sylar was tall and lean, and the man opposing him was stocky and built like a Goddamn house. It was just physically not possible for him to be overcome by someone at least half his size. Of course, they didn't understand that Sylar's telekinesis was playing a part in enhancing his strength, but they knew something strange was going on here.

Sylar let go of him and the man jerked away quickly, massaging his bruised wrist. Now free, he opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but another glare from Sylar caused the words to wither and die in his throat.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." He growled to his four thugs, and they began to unsteadily make their way to the exit, but not before the leader turned and shot a furious glare over Sylar's shoulder at Rae.

He suddenly froze in his tracks, his tawny eyes widening once more in shock and disbelief, only this time his gaze was trained on the young woman. If Sylar hadn't been so fully focused on sending his hatred via his glare at the man and turned to see what had caused his strange reaction, he would've noticed that there was something scarily different about Rae Freeman. The irises of her eyes were no longer blue. Instead, they had turned a dark hazy grey, shadowy tendrils dancing and flickering across the black pupils in such a way that was both unnatural and unexplainable.

But Sylar didn't see any of this, and whlllen he turned to face Rae again after the man and his thugs had fled, her eyes were as they were before, shimmering and blue.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Rae nodded and brushed her hair back from her face.

"Yes, I'm fine."

A sudden outbreak of applause damn near made them jump out of their skins, and they looked around to see almost everyone in the bar clapping for them. Bewildered, Rae and Sylar shared a confused glance. Obviously the exchange between them and the thugs hadn't gone unnoticed. Many people were on their feet, a few metres away from the tables they'd been sat at earlier. The must've moved to help them when the drunks had made their first move, but stopped when they saw that Sylar didn't need any help.

"He didn't hurt you, did he, Rae?" An elderly bartender who evidently knew her called from a little away from them. He had a bottle gripped tightly in his hand, and Sylar wondered if he'd meant to smash it over the head of the main man who'd pulled Rae from her seat. The thought of that made the corner of his lips quirk upwards slightly.

"No, no. I'm fine." Rae reassured the bartender with a smile, then returned her gaze to Sylar and winked at him playfully. "I had my Angel Gabriel here to protect me."

_Angel Gabriel_. He'd been called that once before, by Maya Herrera when she and her brother had found him in Mexico. It was ironic, really. Sylar couldn't be further from an angel if he tried.

Rae stared back over at the door through which the drunks had just left with an unreadable expression on her face and then glanced up at the clock mounted on the far wall before returning her attention to Sylar with a warm smile.

"Whoa, it's getting late." She said, then grinned widely, "Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?"

Sylar chuckled softly, looking up at the clock. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he read the time.

"That clock is three minutes slow."

"That doesn't change how late it is." Rae laughed, casually tossing her hair back over her shoulder, her cobalt eyes glittering impishly.

"I should be getting home now." She said apologetically. Sylar nodded once in acceptance, feeling more disappointed than he thought he would. They'd only spent a short amount of time together, but Sylar didn't want her to leave yet. And he could see that she didn't want to leave yet either, if the expression on her face was anything to go by.

Rae held out her hand to him for the second time tonight.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr Gray."

Sylar took her hand in his without hesitation and shook it almost warmly.

"Likewise, Miss Freeman."

They released their hands and then, as if Sylar hadn't been through enough things tonight that had surprised him, Rae stepped forwards and hugged him. Sylar's mind literally went blank for a few seconds as he stood there like an idiot, his hands frozen uncertainly a few inches away from her back.

'_What the Hell is wrong with you, Rae Freeman?! Why aren't you afraid of me?!'_ He wanted to shout and grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she finally came to her senses. To look into the eyes of Sylar during one of his fiercest death glares and not even feel a trickle of fear was one thing, but to actually wrap her arms around him and _hug him_ was just a completely different thing entirely. It wasn't right. It wasn't natural. It was… _nice_.

Rae pulled back before Sylar even realised she'd moved and she blinked up at him through those long black eyelashes, smiling shyly.

"Thank you." She said softly.

"What for?" Sylar asked. Rae shifted slightly from foot to foot, her hand returning to the cross at her neck, as he'd expected it to.

"Everything. For being good company. For listening. And especially for saving my ass back there." She glanced down at her feet and murmured, "No one has ever done that for me before."

"You get into situations like that often?" Sylar smirked teasingly and she met his gaze again and laughed, mock-frowning at him. Yet another trait to add to the ever-growing Rae Freeman's Most Endearing Traits list.

"Only every other night." She joked, then turned serious once more. "But honestly, thank you. You're a good man, Gabriel Gray. I'm glad I decided to share a drink with you tonight."

Sylar's smirk left his face and he felt his heart sink in his chest. _"You're a good man, Gabriel Gray."_

'_No, I'm not, Rae. I'll never be a good man, not even if I wanted to be.'_ He thought to himself sadly, almost angrily.

Rae smiled at him, not realising how her words had echoed through Sylar's head or how they'd affected him.

"See ya around, Gabriel." She called as she started walking away from him and their table, heading for the exit.

"I hope so, Rae." He replied before he could stop himself. Her smile stretched into a grin and she waved at him as she went on her way. Sylar sat back down in his chair and watched her leave, and continued to stare at the door for a few minutes after she'd disappeared from sight.

Sylar sighed and tore his gaze from the door. He started drumming his fingers on the tabletop, deep in thought. He couldn't deny how curious he was. The way she'd approached him like that and told him about her past. She hadn't told him everything, though. There were some things he knew she'd kept hidden. Maybe something among those hidden secrets might be part of or a reason for her lack of fear towards him. She didn't know who he really was. That much was obvious. She'd called him a_ good man_. She wouldn't have said that if she'd seen the trail of bodies he'd left behind him throughout his life, or if she'd witnessed some of the cruel and brutal things he has done. Sylar had lost count of how many people he'd killed, for their powers or otherwise. That wasn't the mark of a _good man_. That was the mark of a bad man. The mark of a monster. The mark of Sylar.

"You should go after her." A voice said from nearby. Disturbed from his thoughts, Sylar glanced up to find the old barman smiling down at him warmly, and though that smile flickered slightly when met with the coldness of Sylar's hypnotic brown eyes, it didn't completely vanish.

"What?"

"Rae. You should go after her. I can see you want to." The old man wheezed. He sounded like he'd smoked a few too many cigarettes in his life. "Now Rae's a regular in here, and it's not often she shares a drink with anyone, son. Sure, she'll talk to you if you talk to her first, and she's pretty good company once you do, but she rarely starts up a conversation with a stranger. And she nearly never buys them a drink too. You're a lucky man, son, whoever you are. You should go after her."

Sylar looked away from the old man for a second, then looked back, his mind made up and his smirk back on his face.

"You know what? That's a pretty good idea. I think I will." He said, and the old man smiled wider, leaning over to take the three empty glasses from Sylar's table.

"That's the spirit, son!" The bartender chuckled as Sylar rose from his seat and made his way between the other tables in the bar, heading for the door. When he got there, he paused and looked back. The old man grinned and gestured for him to go left. With a small nod of thanks in return, Sylar left the bar.

He hadn't been walking for long when he spotted her, walking briskly down the street with her jacket collar upturned and her arms wrapped tightly around herself, keeping her warm and protecting her from the icy bite of the night wind. Sylar himself resisted the urge to shiver at the freezing temperature and followed her silently, unnoticed and hidden from view by the shadows.

About five minutes in, Sylar noticed something odd. He kept a generous amount of distance between them to avoid detection, but even from behind Rae Freeman's body language didn't exactly give off the impression of a woman making her way home. No, she was too alert for that, her head turning from left to right, scanning the surrounding area thoroughly. She paused in her stride every now and again, listening fiercely to something Sylar couldn't hear, then she'd head off again in the direction of the supposed noise. She was searching for something, obviously something of vital importance judging by the look on her face Sylar had caught a side-view glimpse of when she turned her head to the right for what must've been the hundredth time.

She stopped yet again and turned her head towards the inaudible sound, and suddenly a wide triumphant grin spread across her features. The breeze whipped her long chocolate-coloured tresses around her and she brushed her hair back from her face almost impatiently, her eyes set unblinkingly on an alleyway to her right as she walked purposefully towards it.

As she disappeared from Sylar's view down the alleyway, he picked up his pace a little, eager to close the gap and find out what she'd been so determined to locate.

He knew she wasn't alone when he heard a familiar slurring male voice break through the otherwise stillness of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," The drunken thug from the bar drawled. Sylar recognised him instantly without needing to see him. He could practically hear the leer in his voice from here. "Look who we have here. If it ain't that feisty bitch from the bar. What're you doing round these parts, beautiful? Got lost on your way home?"

He chuckled, and it was echoed by four other voices. Obviously he was still with all his cronies. Sylar didn't understand what was happening. Rae had just wandered down that alleyway and just so _happened _to stumble across the inebriated brutes from earlier? No, that was way too much of a coincidence. And her expression when she'd willingly walked down that alleyway. She'd _known_ they were there. But how? Sylar had no idea. And what was she planning to do? It was one young woman against five huge thugs. They'd tear her apart.

Then Sylar heard Rae laugh, and the sound almost sent shivers down his spine. It was nothing like the warm light laughter she'd shared with him at their table, oh no. It was icier than the wind, thick with malice and vindictiveness. It was a truly evil sound, one that Sylar couldn't imagine coming from the mouth of Rae Freeman. But it had, and it shook him to the core.

"No, I'm not lost. In fact, I was rather hoping I'd run into you boys again soon. Isn't that funny?" Her words were like daggers, sharp and spiteful. The men were silent, and Sylar was sincerely glad he wasn't the one on the receiving end of Rae's vehemence. He was almost at the mouth of the alley now.

"I'm afraid I can't stay long, but I've got a bone to pick with you boys." Rae continued, her voice ringing clearly from within the alleyway, "Now, it's nothing to do with what happened back at the bar tonight. All's forgiven for that. No, it's about a friend of mine. Her name is Anna Lucia. Remember her? I hope so. Or did you not bother to ask her name when _you violated her a few weeks ago?_"

She hissed the last part with such ferocity like Sylar had never heard before in his life. The men kept their silence, not daring to say a word.

"No, I don't think you did. I bet she's nothing but a distant memory now, right? Well, Anna Lucia remembers you all so clearly. And she told me _exactly_ who the bastards were that attacked her that night, and she told me _everything_ you did to her. And I'm not happy, boys. Not happy _at all_."

"Look, lady –" One of them started to say, but Rae swiftly cut across him, raising her voice.

"Were you intending to do the same thing to me? You were, oh you so were, I could see it in your goddamn eyes! Well. I'm here now, aren't I? Aren't you going to take advantage of me? After all, I'm only _one woman_…" She broke off there, her voice turning into a silky smooth almost seductive purr. It was so ominous that Sylar skidded to a halt a few metres from the alley entrance, every instinct and thought running through his brain screaming at him to stay back. Something was about to happen, and he didn't want to be caught in the blast, whatever it may be.

"I guess I'll have to teach you all a lesson." Rae said innocently, "And don't worry, boys. I know you're going to enjoy this just as much as I will."

As soon as the words left her mouth, there was a deafening bloodcurdling scream that was quickly joined by four more, and the grisly chorus of screams grew louder as they bounced off the surrounding walls. The darkness of the night sky seemed to get darker still, and shadows seemed to stretch along the ground, all reaching towards the alleyway. Other than the screams, it was eerily silent. Sylar couldn't even hear his own breathing or his heartbeat as he stood with his back against the wall, next to the alley.

The screams were cut off almost as abruptly as they'd started, and a disgusting wet splattering sound filled the air. All was completely silent for a couple more seconds before the night was once again ripped apart by that horribly cold cruel laugh of Rae Freeman.

Footsteps approached and Sylar ducked behind a couple of wheelie bins. Squinting through a slim crack, Sylar watched as Rae walked cautiously out of the alleyway, scanning up and down the street before she sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair, continuing on her way down the street as if nothing had happened. And to the casual passer-by, that's exactly what it would've looked like. And it would've looked the same to Sylar too, if he hadn't been listening in the whole time. Or if he hadn't noticed the crimson bloodstain splattered across her the tanned skin of her chest. Or if he hadn't noticed that, when she'd been checking if the coast was clear, the blue irises of her eyes had turned a sinister shade of dark shadowy grey. Oh there was something secretive going on with Rae Freeman, that's for sure. And Sylar was certain he had a pretty good idea what.

When Rae had completely disappeared from sight once more, Sylar rose and stepped out from behind the bins, making his way down the alley from which she had just left. It was a bloodbath. Deep crimson covered everything, the walls, floor, even the bins and litter floating around in the breeze. Sylar frowned as he stepped towards the nearest wall and raised his hand, running his fingers over the congealing veils of blood dripping down the brickwork. He brought his hand back and rubbed his thumb and index fingers together, smearing the scarlet mess over the digits.

If he was curious before, it was nothing compared to the curiosity he felt at that moment. Rae Freeman wasn't human. That much was obvious. She was one of the superpowered race, like him. But what was her power? She'd basically destroyed these five men in a split second, reducing them to nothing but huge pools of blood. Sylar licked his lips, his curiosity swiftly turning into that familiar hunger for power he was so used to, that urge to claim another ability and become even stronger than before. Whatever her power was, it would without a doubt come in very useful somewhere along the line. And with it being practically handed to him on a silver platter, he'd be a fool not to seize the opportunity, wouldn't he?

So he wiped his fingers on his jeans and left the gruesome scene in the alley behind, going to do the only thing he could do, and found it impossible to resist.

Sylar followed her home.

* * *

**So what did you think? Any good? Let me know if you liked it! **

**Thanks for reading! :D And keep an eye out for part two! **


	2. The Serial Killer and the MassMurderer

**Heya, here's the second part of this! I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favourited this, I really appreciate it!**

**Now this turned out kinda longer than I thought it would. I had a word limit of 8000. And I kinda blew it by about 2500, but hey, that's life! XD**

**This was actually supposed to be a two-shot, but since this turned out longer than I thought it would, I realised I needed another chapter for the final part so this isnt the end folks! :D**

**And Sylar _almost_ turned a little Spock-ish in the middle, but thankfully I brought him back XD**

**Oh and by the by, the bit with Eden McCain in is from an actual Heroes episode from the first season, and I don't own it or her or Sylar or anything Heroes related, ok? Good. ;p**

**Anyways, read on and leave me a review please, I want to know what you people think of this!**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Sylar stood outside Rae's house, staring up at the building that looked exactly like every other house on the street. It seemed so commonplace and normal, nothing whatsoever to suggest that anyone out of the ordinary lived there. But Sylar knew better. He didn't know exactly what her ability was, but he knew great power when he felt it. He knew great power when he _craved_ it. And he could feel the unrelenting pull of that desire, drawing him to this house, this woman. Rae Freeman. Someone so remarkable hiding in an unremarkable world. A gift like that shouldn't be hidden, and when the night was through and her gift eventually became his, Sylar wouldn't hide it. He would embrace it, and make good use of it to further his own purposes.

He smirked to himself as he walked up the path to the front door. With a single twitch of his fingers, he made short work of the lock and the door swung open to him instantly. He looked around briefly, checking that no neighbours had seen him, then he entered the house and the door shut gently behind him at his command.

The house was completely still, not a single sound from anywhere inside as he made his way down the corridor as surefooted as a cat, heading for the staircase to the next level. No lights were on, and no footsteps came from the upper floor, so that meant that either Miss Freeman was asleep, or expecting him. And Sylar knew she wasn't expecting him. As far as she was concerned, Gabriel Gray was just a guy she'd had a drink with in a bar, and who had helped her out of a sticky situation. There was no way she knew who he really was, a serial killer with super powers, creeping around inside her home in the dead of night, ready to slit open her pretty head and steal that unknown yet extraordinary ability from her brain. Sylar felt a thrill of excitement spread through his chest, and his smirk grew wider still.

The stairs creaked slightly under his feet as he ascended to the floor above, his dark brown eyes taking in every inch of the environment. He was on the landing, surrounded by numerous doors, all fully open except for one, which was ajar only by a few inches. Moving closer to that door, Sylar could vaguely make out soft breathing sounds coming from within, and the occasional rustle of skin against fabric. Reaching out with one hand, he slowly pushed the door open telekinetically and stepped inside.

Rae was sprawled out on her back on a double bed at the opposite side of the room, the silky white bedsheets draped freely over her body. As Sylar silently approached her, she mumbled something under her breath and turned over onto her side, facing him. Her long chocolate-coloured hair was tied back from her face in a loose ponytail and her eyes fluttered beneath her eyelids as she slept on, completely oblivious to the fact that she was seconds away from being murdered by Sylar, the supposed _'good man'_ she knew by the name of Gabriel Gray.

He leant over her, lifting a hand to her face and brushing a stray lock of hair back from her forehead before he'd even realised what he was doing. She twitched slightly, wrinkling her nose, and then a slow smile spread across her face as she unconsciously nuzzled against his hand.

Sylar eyebrows raised in surprise at this and he quickly pulled his hand away. Rae frowned in her sleep and turned over again, this time with her back to him. Sylar stood there uncertainly, glancing from his hand to Rae, then back to his hand again. There was a brief moment of pause in his otherwise unyielding thirst for power and all he could see was those beautiful azure eyes of hers in his head, that stunning face of an angel with flawless golden skin and full pink lips, her pretty pouts and scowls, that sunny laughter and the warmth and sincerity in her gaze, and most of all, her lack of fear towards him. He'd never known anyone like her before. Even when he was romantically involved with Elle Bishop, he'd known she was afraid of him. Her eyes gave her away every time he got close to her. Maybe that's why he ended up killing her. But Rae… Rae was _different_.

Sylar frowned deeply and closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to get his head straight. No. Rae wasn't different. Rae was just like every other woman in the world. The only thing special about her was her mysterious ability, and when he took that from her, she'd be just as insignificant as everyone else. Just another corpse in the grave. But even then, he knew that he'd feel guilty later, just has he had done after the murder of Brian Davies. Rae had affected him in a way that she probably didn't even realise. But it didn't matter now. Rae Freeman was about to die.

Sylar opened his eyes, the cold dark brown depths filled with nothing but lust for power and determination to claim it as he poised his fingers, ready to remove the top of her skull and add yet another ability to his ever-growing arsenal…

Only he never got that far.

The bed was empty.

Sylar blinked once, frowning in confusion, but before he could even straighten up, he was grabbed roughly from behind and a knife suddenly appeared at his throat. The sharp edge of the blade dug uncomfortably deep into his flesh, not deep enough to kill him, but deep enough to make him bleed. To say he was shocked would be one Hell of an understatement.

"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life." A voice hissed from incredibly close to his left ear, the tone deadly and low and _unmistakably female_…

"Oh, I doubt that." Sylar responded smoothly, as though he had knives pointed at his throat every day of the week. He hid his previous surprise well beneath his calm hypnotic tone. The hand holding the weapon to his neck was remarkably steady, not even the slightest tremor, as though she pointed knives at people's throats every day of the week.

He moved swiftly before she had the chance to reply, grabbing the hand that held the blade to his throat and pulling it up sharply above his head as he spun to face his feminine assailant. Familiar twin pools of cerulean blue suddenly came into view. He stared slightly down at her, their faces literally inches apart as Sylar continued to hold both their arms up in the air. The knife was still in her hand, but she couldn't use it on him now. Not that she wanted to. After all, she didn't know who he truly was. Yet.

It was dark in the room, but not dark enough for either of them to be unable to see each other. Recognition instantly sparked through her eyes and they widened as she realised who she was standing in incredibly close proximity to, and also who she'd just threatened with a knife.

"Gabriel? What are you doing here?" She said, sounding as surprised as she looked. Then the obvious struck her and her eyes narrowed as she stared at him, her eyebrows furrowing into a deep frown not unfamiliar to Sylar's own from a few seconds ago. Sylar internally chuckled. Even when she frowned, Rae Freeman was still breathtakingly beautiful. Strangely, he felt the urge to pull her ponytail out to release that silky cascade of russet hair, but he resisted.

"How did you get in?"

"I'm good at breaking and entering." Sylar replied with a smirk, artfully dodging the question by telling her half the truth. He _was_ good at breaking and entering, but it was _how_ he was good at it that he kept to himself for now.

Rae raised an eyebrow at him pointedly, but then her attention was diverted as she noticed something odd and fixed her gaze instead on Sylar's throat. He knew what she was looking at. He could feel the thin cut left by her knife as it healed, his flesh knitting together until nothing remained but a smear of blood across his throat.

'_Thank you, Claire Bennet.'_ Sylar thought to himself. Without that incredible and valuable ability he attained from the blonde cheerleader, he would've been killed a thousand times over. Considering how all the people Sylar has met have tried to finish him off some way or another, usually attempting to stick various kinds of sharp objects into the back of his neck. His Achilles' heel, as it were. But not for much longer.

Claire Bennet was special too. So special. He'd craved her ability for _such_ a long time, and when he finally took it from her, he'd never felt so alive. Of course, in her having such an ability, she was the first and only one of Sylar's victims to live after he'd taken their powers from their skulls. At first he'd thought that Claire Bennet would be perfect for him. What with his murderous tendencies, and her being unable to remain physically hurt. It seemed almost logical, he thought. But God, the _fear_… the amount of pure undiluted fear in her eyes. So euphoric. Sylar was able to manipulate her so easily. And he found it so damn _fun_. Claire was nothing but a scared little girl, putting on a brave front even when she knows she's way out of her depth. She despised him, and taunting her was almost a hobby to Sylar. But he knew he needed more than that. He and Claire could never be. There's only so much fear Sylar can take before his control breaks and his desire for power takes over. Too many people have found that out the hard way. Luckily for the cheerleader, she survived. Elle Bishop, on the other hand, didn't.

Rae Freeman pulled her hands back a little and Sylar let go, returning from his thoughts. Her knifeless hand came down and went straight to the small streak of carmine marring his skin, gathering the liquid on the pads of her fingertips. Rae studied the now unmarked flesh of his neck then brought her hand up in the space between them and examined his blood, rubbing her fingers together in the exact same way he had done back in the alley.

"Rapid cellular regeneration." She murmured to herself. She looked back up at Sylar, something more than there had been before swimming in her sapphire orbs. _You're just like me._ Sylar didn't need to be telepathic to hear the thought echo through her mind. The expression on her face made it obvious.

Sylar let his smirk grow wider. Rae nibbled her bottom lip in contemplation before she brought her left arm up into view and held her knife to the soft tanned flesh with her right. Sylar watched as she sharply slashed the blade across her forearm and grit her teeth against the twinge of pain, blood immediately surfacing and dribbling down her skin for freedom. It was Sylar's turn to frown once more in confusion, but he said nothing as she wiped most of the scarlet mess away impatiently before she pressed her fingers to the wound, daubing Sylar's blood the entire length of the cut.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Rae was still bleeding. Then she gasped and they both watched as the flesh around her wound joined together and sealed itself, leaving no mark but drying crimson in its wake.

"Wow." She breathed in awe, staring at her once again flawless skin for a moment before she absently reached down to pull the sheet from her bed. She cleaned the blood from her arm with it and tossed the stained silk back onto the mattress, straightening up to return her eyes to meet his.

"One of my many talents." Sylar said, inclining his head to her with an almost smug little grin. A smirk of her own spread across Rae's pretty face.

"I bet you say that to all the girls." She grinned. She brought her fingers to her lips slowly licked the remaining splodges of carmine liquid from them, her eyes fixed straight on his.

The move was so unexpectedly provocative that Sylar felt his brain throw on the brakes for what must've been the fiftieth time this evening. His train of thought came to an abrupt juddering halt, all thoughts of desire to claim Rae Freeman's remarkable secret power wiped momentarily from his mind. Just like when she'd hugged him in the bar, Sylar found himself frozen uncertainly to the spot, undoubtedly frowning again at his own confusion.

A sudden burst of white brought him swiftly back to his senses and he recoiled slightly, bringing his arm up to shield his eyes from the startling brightness. When he brought his arm back down and squinted until he could tolerate the light, he found Rae still standing in front of him, smiling serenely as though nothing had happened. Sylar glanced upwards to find the light bulb was blazing with artificial glow, then he looked over at the light switch by the door. It had been flicked. Someone had turned the light on. And if the innocent expression on Rae Freeman's face was anything to go by, he had a pretty good idea _who_.

Was that her power? The ability to manipulate light? No, that would be too obvious. He would've seen that if she'd used it in the alley. Perhaps she was technopathic like Micah Sanders, able to control electrical technology. That still wouldn't explain what happened earlier when she literally reduced those five thugs to little more than a river of red liquid. Or… could she possess the gift of telekinesis like Sylar himself? No. That's not possible. He would know if it was telekinesis. Sylar could feel his hunger growing, craving and bloodlust starting to spiral higher and higher, filling every pore of his body with fire. Whatever her ability was, he craved it so badly that it was hard to think of anything else but opening her skull to steal it for his own.

"How did you find me here?" Rae asked, drawing his attention back to reality. Now that light had filled the room, Sylar could see her perfectly. Obviously she had changed out of her previous clothes before going to bed, and now he saw she was wearing a black silk nightie that clung to every curve and ended somewhere around mid-thigh. A lot more of her sunkissed skin was on show, not to mention a more than generous amount of her shapely legs. Quirking one of his eyebrows, Sylar tilted his head as he smirked at her in a way that was a strange mixture of curiosity and arrogance.

"Who is Anna Lucia?" Sylar responded easily, answering her question with a question of his own. Rae Freeman's eyes widened as realisation swiftly kicked in, and then those unfathomable deep cobalt orbs narrowed once more.

"You followed me." She said, her voice almost a growl. It was a statement, not a question. And the expression on Sylar's face confirmed it to be true. He saw anger flare briefly in her azure eyes before she looked away, avoiding his gaze as she stared instead in the direction of her bedroom window. Sylar kept his hypnotic brown eyes fixed unblinkingly on her, a subconscious part of his brain taking in how delicious the elegant curve of her neck looked at this angle. That thought was instantly crushed mere seconds after it had first surfaced, but Sylar couldn't deny it had been there. Not that the offending subconscious part of his brain wanted him to deny it.

"Anna Lucia is a friend of mine." Rae sighed suddenly. Sylar hadn't been expecting her to reply and was surprised when she did, although he hid it well beneath his unreadable features. "One of my very few friends. We've known each other for a couple of years. Maybe even longer, I don't know, it seems like forever. She helped me out through a rough patch and I suppose I've been indebted to her in a way." Rae's expression suddenly darkened, a sharp contrast to the brightness of the room. A cruel smirk played at the corners of her mouth. "Well, up until about an hour ago, that is. I think I've repaid my debt now, don't you?"

Sylar felt a small prickle of unease trail his spine, remembering the inhumanely cold laughter that had issued from Rae's mouth back in the alleyway shortly before she committed five simultaneous unexplainable murders. And seeing the look on her face no more than a good few inches in front of him, Sylar couldn't help but think that maybe he wasn't the only dangerous superpowered being in the room. In fact, there was no maybe about it. She was undoubtedly as dangerous as him. Or possibly even more so. Sylar had no idea what she could be capable of. The alternating warmth and iciness of her deep cerulean eyes gave nothing away except the fact that Rae Freeman was as unpredictable as they come.

"Anyway, she was attacked about two weeks ago, and she was a mess when I went to visit her in hospital. She didn't want to say what happened to her, but I managed to convince her to tell me. And she told me everything. They spiked her drink with Rohypnol. The date rape drug, right? Then they… well, you can guess what they did to her." Rae's lips pressed tightly together into a thin line, and Sylar could only imagine the images running through her head. Because they were the same images running through his at that moment. The 'they' she spoke of, without a doubt being the five men from the bar, taking advantage of a drugged young woman. Sylar's hands curled into fists.

"She might've been drugged, but she remembered all their faces clearly. Well, she could hardly forget, considering what she went through. When she told me, I recognised them too, since they're regulars at the bar. They show up there every couple of weeks. I knew if I waited long enough, they'd be back. And I took advantage of that."

"You used yourself as bait." Sylar concluded, his fists unconsciously clenching tighter by his sides. Rae looked up and smiled ruefully.

"I suppose you could say that." She shrugged, obviously showing no concerns for her own safety. "Although the one thing I hadn't bargained on was meeting you tonight, Mr Gabriel Gray. And isn't it just typical that they chose tonight to take the bait. Ruined the best evening out I've had in a long time. But hey, I got what I wanted."

She paused, tapping a finger lightly against her bottom lip in thought.

"Actually, I guess it was a good thing you were there, Gabriel. They must've been more sober when they drugged Anna Lucia, or they would've done the same to me tonight instead of a direct confrontation. Either that, or they wanted me alone. Lucky for me, huh?"

Sylar was silent for a moment, and then something quickly occurred to him.

"If I hadn't been there," he said, inclining his head to her, "When they came over, would you have let them drag you away like they intended to?"

Rae's smile grew by a couple of molars.

"Am I really that obvious?" She replied impishly, toying with a stray strand of hair that had come free from her ponytail in such an innocent way that Sylar found himself yet again doing a double take. How could this woman before him be the same woman from the alley? It didn't seem possible. It was like there were two Rae Freemans', the warm and friendly young woman he shared a drink with at the bar and the cold heartless killer who had laughed so callously at the slaughter she'd left in her wake. Strangely, he found himself more curious and interested than ever.

"You killed them." Sylar said.

"I killed them." Rae smiled back.

"How?" He couldn't stop himself asking. The urge within him was growing evermore stronger by the second. He was so close to her, so close he could just reach out and take her power right now. She'd never see it coming until it was too late. She would be dead, and Sylar would leave with what he came for. So why didn't he take such a perfect opportunity that was literally staring him straight in the face?

Rae laughed softly, letting herself drop back down onto the bed. She slouched back on her forearms, her tanned legs dangling over the edge, grazing the fluffy carpet with her toes. She stared up at Sylar, her eyes sparkling as she twirled the knife in her hand, a deadly hypnotic fan of silver.

"How did you heal yourself?" She grinned pointedly. Sylar felt his lips quirk up in amusement. Rae had flipped the roles. Now she was answering his questions with questions.

"I'm special." He answered, still smirking.

Rae's grin widened and she tilted her head back slightly, showing him more of that deliciously elegant neck of hers. A lesser man might have swallowed thickly in anticipation. Sylar, on the other hand, didn't react. Just because he knew she wanted him to. It felt like a small victory in a way.

"Then I guess that means I'm special too." Rae said. She gave as little away as he did, and Sylar felt a spike of irritation, but it was a strange kind of amused annoyance. Or annoyed amusement, depending on which you preferred. He was starting to think that he'd definitely met his match in Rae Freeman.

Evidently he wasn't going to get anything out of her this way, so he decided that it was time for him to drop the pretence. That familiar thrill of wicked excitement spread through his chest at the thought of seeing the look on the mysterious Miss Freeman's face when she realised who and what he was. He knew he'd enjoy watching that euphoric fear fill up in those tranquil cerulean depths. Sylar vowed he would make sure Rae experienced the true meaning of pure fear before she died.

"Oh, I know you're special." Sylar said, his voice turning into a silky smooth purr as he started slowly towards her. Unsuspecting, Rae smiled and stood up from the bed, leaving her knife behind on the mattress as she walked to meet him. Sylar bit back a vicious grin. This was almost too easy. In less than a few minutes, he would have his hands inside her skull as she bled out on the floor, leaving her wondrous ability ripe for the taking. His hands twitched eagerly by his sides.

"In fact, that's why I'm here. You're so special you've managed to catch my attention, Rae Freeman. You and your ability will be of great use to me." The greedy glint in his eyes must be recognisable to her now they were practically nose to nose, and yet if she noticed, she didn't let it show and neither did she move away to a safe distance. Although being in the same room as him, there wasn't really a safe distance to move away to.

Sylar leaned closer, indulging in the urge to trace her jaw line, softly caressing the supple golden skin beneath his fingertips. Rae shivered slightly at the contact, her eyes sliding shut as she moistened her full pink lips with the tip of her tongue. His mouth found her left ear, and hovered inches from it.

"My name is Sylar." He whispered, the hushed tone of his voice sinister and ominous.

Rae Freeman's reaction was immediate. Her entire body froze, a muffled strangled gasp forcing its way from her throat though she managed to smother it before it completely left her lips. Sylar's hand fell to her shoulder, his grip tight enough to warn her not to pull away from him. His mouth was still at her ear, his head still beside hers. He could feel Rae's slightly faster and deeper than usual breathing against the junction between his neck and collarbone as he rubbed his cheek against hers, his stubble scraping along her flesh.

"I take it you've heard of me." Sylar murmured, a tad unnecessarily. He was pointing out the obvious, after all. Rae nodded once, unable to find her voice at that moment in time. Sylar's grin widened.

"So that means you know what I want from you." He continued, his mouth finally meeting the soft skin of her neck, feathering light kisses to the length of her jugular vein, feeling the pulse pound beneath his lips. She nodded again and Sylar chuckled deeply into the column of her throat.

Suddenly, Rae completely relaxed against him. Surprised, Sylar pulled back a little, wondering if she'd fainted. He was even more surprised when her arms encircled his waist, pulling him closer to her, and this time it was her mouth at his ear.

"What makes you think I'm going to let you take what you want from me?" Rae purred, nuzzling against his firm chest. Sylar moved his head back so he could look her full on in the face, and he frowned as he noticed the playful twinkle had returned to her eyes, and the teasing smirk that spread wider as he watched. This was unexpected. This wasn't supposed to happen. Sylar wanted her fear, he wanted it so much that he was prepared to do just about anything to get it, but he smoothed his expression back into its usual unreadable position.

His hand moved from her shoulder to the underside of her chin as he tilted her head up. Her throat was inches away from his fingertips, and knowing that he held the choice of life or death literally in his hands made Sylar feel completely in control.

"What makes you think you'll be able to stop me?" He replied, his voice barely more than a deadly whisper. Rae smiled up at him.

"I'm special, remember?"

Sylar couldn't hold back the smirk that played at his lips. He opened his mouth to answer her, but found himself silenced by Rae's finger as she pressed it to his lips.

"Shh," She murmured. Sylar's anger flared for a brief second and it must've shown in his eyes because Rae chuckled softly and rubbed the pad of her finger along his top lip.

"How about we play a game? If you catch me, you can slit open my skull and steal my power. As for the rules, anything goes. How's that for a deal?"

Sylar hesitated uncertainly, resisting the urge to shake his head in confusion. She wanted to play a _game?_ With _him?_ Well, how she could call it a game was a mystery to him, since it was closer to suicide for her. What was the use prolonging the inevitable? Rae Freeman wasn't going to escape him. She couldn't. There was no possible way for her to leave here alive. And the stakes… she was basically giving him permission to separate the top of her head from the rest of her body. Speaking of which, how did she know that was how he took powers? Yes, she had heard of him, but how had she heard so much? Or perhaps an even more chilling thought: how much more did she know? Sylar was actually beginning to wonder if she was mentally unstable. That was the only rational explanation he could think of.

"What do you get out of this game?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Rae shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's a game, Sylar. I'm doing it for the _fun_." She sighed as she said it, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rae Freeman must be seriously messed up if she thought playing a game of life-or-death with a superpowered serial killer was _fun_.

'_Fine.'_ Sylar thought savagely, _'She wants fun? I'll give her fun. __**My**__ kind of fun.'_

Before she could even blink, Sylar's hands slammed around Rae Freeman's throat and lifted her up into the air so her feet dangled helplessly a good few inches off the ground. She gagged in his chokehold, scrabbling at his hands with her sharp black-painted fingernails. Sylar grinned cruelly up at her. There was no way she was getting out of this one.

"Game over." He sneered, tightening his grip even more. Sadistic pleasure surged through Sylar's veins and the light bulb above their heads exploded in response, plunging the room once more into darkness. Rae panted and gasped, writhing furiously to free herself. But it was all in vain. Nothing could save her now. Rae Freeman was dead to the world.

Soon she fell still. Too soon. She couldn't have died that quickly. Against his better judgement, Sylar loosened his hands a little from around her neck.

Rae's eyes immediately shot wide open, the previously sapphire blue irises now that sinister shade of dark shadowy grey he had briefly witnessed less than an hour ago. The effect was much more disturbing up close as he could plainly see hazy tendrils dancing and flickering across the black pupils like thick wisps of smoke. Rae smirked at him, succeeding in making herself even more frightening than before.

"Oh no, Gabriel," she spoke, her voice alarmingly clear and cold despite his hands still restricting her airway, "We've barely begun."

Sylar could do nothing more than stare in complete shock and disbelief as Rae's secret ability was revealed as time seemed to crawl almost sluggishly by. Her golden brown skin began to turn black, inky tendrils of the purest onyx creeping along her flesh. Even though the dim eerie glow of moonlight shone through the bedroom window, the room seemed to turn even darker, shadows stretching along the walls and floor, all straining to reach the middle of the room. To reach Rae Freeman.

Rae's wide white grin was prominent on her face now that her whole body had turned black. Even her long mane of russet hair had darkened to ebony. Her eyes were still that unsettling unnatural grey colour and they were fixed unblinkingly on his wide brown ones. Sylar repressed a shiver. The whole room was freezing cold.

Without warning, Rae completely disappeared, leaving a shadowed copy of herself still gripped in Sylar's hands. Before Sylar could even stop to think what the hell just happened, his hands sank straight through where her neck had previously been and the silhouette broke apart, sending wispy black smoke spiralling out of existence in all directions.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds, and though he had witnessed the entire thing, Sylar couldn't believe his eyes. Rae was gone. _Where?_ He had no idea. The only thing he did know now was exactly what her remarkable ability was. And if it was even possible, he hungered for it even more.

Sylar felt a swirl of icy cold air behind him and suddenly a contrastingly warm and unmistakeably female body pressed up against his back. He could feel her breathing against the back of his neck as Rae leaned forwards a little more, once again finding Sylar's left ear directly before her lips.

"Are you afraid of the dark, Gabriel?" She purred in his ear, tracing the outer shell with her tongue, "You really shouldn't have turned out the lights…"

She paused for a second, and Sylar could almost sense her glancing upwards at the remains of the light bulb.

"Although you didn't really turn it out, did you?" Rae mused aloud, "You sort of… broke it."

Sylar didn't have chance to answer, or even move to seize hold of her again as she let out a delighted laugh and her warmth left him as she once again faded away into the darkness. Even though he knew she was no longer there, he spun around anyway, his dark brown eyes darting around the room as he searched for any slightest clue or sign of the mysterious Miss Freeman. Nothing. He felt fury rapidly swelling up in his chest as he swept his glare accusingly across the empty space. She was gone. How could she be gone?! It wasn't even possible that she could escape him! _No one escapes Sylar!_

He cast his gaze over the bed and noticed something was missing, and it hit him instantly as to exactly what it was. Rae's knife. Like it's owner, it too had vanished without a trace. Into thin air. No, not thin air. Into the _shadows_.

The sound of a door slamming made him whip his head around to the source so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. The bedroom door was shut, but only because Sylar himself had closed it when he'd first entered the room.

Another slam. Then another. Listening, Sylar realised that it wasn't just a single door being opened and slammed shut again repeatedly, but several in swift procession, one after another. And judging by the subtle change in pitch with each door, the sounds lead through the hallway and down the stairs. Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Sylar strode across the room, forcing the door open telekinetically so hard that it actually tore away from its hinges and splintered against the wall opposite.

All the doors that had previously been open were now closed, but Sylar paid little attention as he made his way purposefully down the staircase from which he'd first came, the look in his eyes so fierce that if anyone happened to come close enough right at that moment, they'd undoubtedly literally burst into flames.

"_What I wouldn't give for that ability,"_ He thought as he reached the bottom of the staircase and sent another door flying from its frame without touching it, _"What I wouldn't give for __**her**__ ability. Rae Freeman, you won't live to regret taunting me._

Sylar walked into what was obviously the living room and his gaze was instantly drawn to a two-seater leather sofa that was directly in front of him. Sprawled casually across it was none other than the subject of his fury, gently tipping the blade of her knife with one finger. Her skin had turned back to its original colour, as had her hair. She appeared almost harmless from this angle, her head tilted forwards as she studied the blade in her fingers. As she realised she was no longer alone, Rae looked up at Sylar with a mock sad expression on her face that would've been convincing if it weren't for the impish smirk twitching her lips.

"What took you so long?" She inquired, pulling herself up into a sitting position and crossing one long tanned leg over the other. She leaned forwards, her knife held loosely in both hands where they rested on her lap. Sylar saw that her irises had not yet returned to blue and were still that foreboding shade of grey.

"Have you worked it out yet?"

"You can manipulate shadows." Sylar replied, a rush of anticipation racing along his spine that was somewhat dulled by his anger. _'And soon, so will I.'_

"Yup." Rae smiled as she stood up on the sofa cushions and, with a remarkable amount of easy grace, climbed up onto the back, "I'm a walking case of Nyctophobia. You don't want to meet me down a dark alley." She giggled almost girlishly at the obvious insinuation behind her words, "You even saw the results of that yourself, didn't you?"

As she grinned down at him, Sylar suddenly recalled part of their earlier conversation at the bar.

"_Amara, my sister, oh she had such a fear of the dark. Pretty ironic, actually."_

Those had been her exact words. At the time, he hadn't understood the irony, nor had he dwelled on it since he'd been so focussed on trying to figure out the unusual fearless woman who sat before him. And now, as she stood before him, balancing perfectly on top of the thin hard ledge that formed the back of the sofa, Sylar realised that he hadn't been the only one hinting about his powers back there.

Rae lowered her body into a crouch, keeping her eyes on his as she pulled the bobble free from her hair and then retied her ponytail a little tighter than before. Sylar couldn't help but notice just how catlike Rae Freeman was with her movements, slinky and elegant with a sense of balance second to none. Even the gleam reflected from the moonlight in her grey eyes was feline. She certainly seemed like the kind of woman who always landed on her feet. But one cat feature she didn't have was nine lives. She only had the one. Soon to be zero.

"So, Sylar… Are you going to play my game with me?" Rae smiled pleasantly, as though this wasn't a life-or-death situation she was so eager to get herself into. Sylar's anger was starting to subside now, and his amused annoyance had returned. Although it was more amusement than annoyance, and growing even more so every minute that passed.

"I'm afraid I have to decline." Sylar responded as he stared up at her from beneath his eyebrows, inclining his head towards her with his smug smirk fixed back in its rightful place. His hand rose up slowly from his side, two fingers pointed straight at Rae Freeman's forehead, ready to slice.

Rae's features turned from mischievous to predatory as she handled her knife expertly in one hand, looking for all the world like a lioness poised to attack. An armed lioness. An armed lioness with superpowers. Somebody was about to get hurt, and Sylar wasn't completely certain if it would be Rae or him.

"I'm afraid you don't really have a choice." She hissed, baring her teeth at him in a feral snarl as her arm snapped back and then flung forwards, sending the knife ripping through the air towards him with deadly speed and precision. "Think fast!"

Luckily for Sylar, he managed to halt the knife in midair with his telekinesis, the sharp point less than an inch away from the centre of his forehead. If he hadn't done as she said and 'thought fast', the blade would've speared him straight between the eyes. Even with his stolen ability to heal himself, that would've hurt like the mother of all mothers.

Sylar looked up over the floating blade, only to find Rae had disappeared again. A spurt of frustration made his jaw tighten, but when the sound of soft laughter came from somewhere to his far left, he merely turned his head towards the noise, his face impassive apart from one raised eyebrow.

It was strange how Rae reappeared. Although it couldn't really be classed as 'reappearing' as it was much more like 'emerging'. As she stepped forwards out of the shadows covering the wall, black tendrils receded from her flesh like live vines, reluctant to let her go. It almost seemed like it took a lot of effort to escape the clutches of darkness, judging by how her back arched slightly and her fists clenched as she pulled herself free. It looked like she was trying to walk through thick tar. Sylar imagined that was probably what it felt like too.

"Impressive." Sylar said approvingly. Rae grinned and leaned back against the wall.

"I could say the same." She replied, gesturing towards the knife still suspended in the air in front of him. Sylar glanced at it, then his gaze returned to her, his smirk doubling in size.

"This is nothing compared to what else I can do." Sylar purred smoothly. Rae smirked and opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she'd intended to say swiftly turned into a loud cry of mixed shock and pain as she jerked sharply to the side to avoid her own knife as it was sent back at her at double the speed. Unfortunately for her, she'd moved a split-second too late and the blade impaled itself through the flesh and sinews of her right shoulder, effectively pinning her to the wall behind her.

"You son of a bitch!" She hissed through teeth gritted in pain, both her hands flying up to the hilt that stuck obscenely out of her body. Blood surfaced and trailed rivulets down her arm, spreading across the black silk of her nightie at that side of her chest. Her palms and the knife handle swiftly became slippery with the crimson liquid as she tried vainly to pull the blade from her shoulder.

Sylar's smirk was now so wide it was surprising it hadn't ripped his face in two. He let out a throaty chuckle as he started towards her, purposely taking his time. His brown eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the scarlet fluid that leaked from the wound beneath the hilt. Rae Freeman wasn't going anywhere now. She was securely trapped against that wall by her own knife. Sylar savoured the moment as he approached her, waiting for her to lift her head and look at him so he could _finally_ take pleasure in the fear in her eyes.

"Did you really think you could bait a man like me and get away with it, Rae Freeman?" Sylar inquired, coming to a halt less than a few feet in front of her. He leaned forwards, placing one palm against the wall at the side of her head while he used the other hand to tilt her chin up to meet his gaze. Rae's eyes flickered with pain, and the briefest infinitesimal flash of apprehension that darted through the grey orbs made Sylar's heart leap to his throat with triumph.

'_Yes… now you're scared, Rae. I've got half of what I wanted.'_ He thought. _'Now for the rest…'_

Sylar lifted his hand for the second time and aimed two fingers at Rae's forehead, grinning widely down at her. She glared defiantly back, and Sylar couldn't deny the spark of simultaneous respect and regret that jolted through his brain.

"I wish…" Rae spoke unexpectedly, panting a little as she still attempted to yank out the blade from her flesh, "I wish I had a gun right now. You can't take abilities from corpses, can you, Sylar? I'd splatter my brains all over this room if I could. Just like Eden McCain. Remember her, Sylar? You should. You tried to steal her power of persuasion, but she killed herself before you could. Remember that?"

Sylar faltered at her words, his mind unintentionally flashing back to a time he'd long since tried to forget, back to his imprisonment in the Company, Primatech.

_Sylar looked out through the large glass panel at the front of his cell, staring up at the small, dark-haired young woman who held a gun loosely by her side. She glared back at him, her hazel eyes burning with hatred._

"_I'm going to take this gun, and I'm going to put it in that slot. And you're going to take it and you're going to blow your brains out." She said, her words rich with persuasive power that made Sylar mentally waver for a moment, a voice in the back of his mind, her voice, urging him to do as she said. But he wasn't about to let this woman force him into committing suicide. Not now, not when he'd barely begun harvesting all those wondrous abilities that others didn't deserve them, and he was more than happy to take their gifts into his own worthier hands. This woman, barely more than a girl, didn't deserve her power. She was broken, like one of the timepieces that needed to be fixed by him, Gabriel Gray, the watchmaker's son._

_Anger suddenly surged through his veins as he realised something, and his lip curled as he narrowed his eyes._

"_You knew, didn't you?" He spat viciously. He didn't give her chance to reply before he flung his arm up in the air and she was sent speeding through the glass, landing half-in, half-out of Sylar's cell. She tried to pull herself up, but Sylar's hand swiftly found her throat._

"_You knew what I was and you let it continue." He growled. She gasped in his grip, her eyes wide and swimming with so much fear, Sylar almost felt like he was drowning in it. Small slivers of glass peppered the right side of her face, blood oozing down her skin._

"_In a way, you helped me." He chuckled nastily, tightening his fingers around her neck. "And after I've consumed your power, you'll help me even more."_

_The woman struggled to breathe, but with some last reserves of strength and determination she brought up the hand that still clutched the gun and aimed it at Sylar's head. Sylar glanced at it, then returned his cold gaze to her bloodied face, enjoying every minute._

"_Eden, you know that won't hurt me." He sneered. Eden drew in one final shuddering breath and quickly turned the gun on herself before he could intervene. Sylar's expression was one of total disbelief as the gunshot echoed around the room, and what remained of the broken glass panel was sprayed with dark crimson liquid._

Sylar was brought back to earth by the sickening sound of metal against flesh and he managed to grab Rae's wrist before she plunged the blade slick with her own blood into his blackened excuse for a heart. Obviously she had used Eden's name to make him relive the woman's death in his head so he would be distracted enough for Rae to remove the knife from her shoulder. She glared at him now, her eyes as cold and grey as steel. And Sylar was glaring straight back, all previous vindictive enjoyment and amusement gone without a trace.

"How do you know about that?" Sylar all but snarled at her. She seemed to know everything about him. And Sylar wasn't playing games with her anymore.

"Because I was there." Rae shot back, a smirk reappearing across her beautiful face as Sylar stared incredulously at her, his eyebrows furrowed into a harsh frown.

"Liar." He hissed, though his fingers pressed against the pulse in her wrist told him the opposite. It stayed perfectly even, no sudden rush to indicate her dishonesty. Either Rae Freeman was an excellent liar, or she was genuinely telling the truth.

"There wasn't only that one cell down in the Company's basement, and it wasn't the only one occupied either. _I_ was there. Me and a few others, all locked up in that Hellhole. Just because we never met each other, doesn't mean I never heard of you. You were sort of infamous in there at the time, and one of the main topics of gossip. All the guards talked about you. And I just so happened to overhear most of the conversations."

Sylar still held onto her wrist, and he could feel her forcing her strength into that arm, trying to bring her knife down to meet his flesh. He tightened his grip warningly and shot her a deadly look, but that only made her smirk spread wider.

"They caught me about a week before they caught you, and I escaped a week after you escaped. Because of my ability, I'm capable of just about anything even with the smallest of shadows. Even when they flooded my cell with light, they couldn't completely get rid of the darkness, so they had to keep me weak to keep me prisoner. I was drugged most of the time, only lucid when they wanted to talk to me, or when they wanted to do their little tests on me. And even then, the man with the horn-rimmed glasses always brought that damn Haitian with him, so I couldn't escape even if I wanted to. I hated that place. I felt dead."

Rae broke her gaze from his for a moment, her knife-free hand pressed against the wound in her shoulder to stem the bleeding. It didn't look to be making much difference, judging by the red streaks seeping out from between her fingers.

"They called us dangerous. People of the worst sort." She laughed bitterly, "Hell, we weren't even people to them. We were locked up in there because we were a threat to society, and the world wouldn't be safe with us walking the streets. That's why you were there. And that's why I was there."

She stopped there, averting her gaze from his. Sylar kept his eyes trained on her face, his brow creased slightly as he fought to hold back the question he wanted to ask. _'And why __**were**__ you there?'_

Rae glanced almost reluctantly back at him and she must've seen something in his dark brown orbs that made her understand the unasked question because she heaved a deep sigh and readjusted her grasp on the hilt of her knife.

"I murdered my family, ok?" Rae scowled in irritation. "It wasn't intentional, it just sort of… happened. My ability is so incredible, and although I can control it to an extent, sometimes I can't. When my emotions get the better of me, I can't hold back."

Sylar understood that concept. Maya Herrera had had a similar problem with her powers surfacing whenever her emotions took over her, usually resulting with people near her dropping dead where they stood. Sylar himself had taught her to manage her emotions and her power. Granted, he had only done it to make sure he would be able to control her ability when he took it from her, but that wasn't relevant right now.

"I was sixteen when it happened. Me, my brother and my sister came home from school and we found my mom and dad arguing in the front room. Sure, they'd argued before, but never like that. I remember seeing a hole in the wall, and my dad's knuckles were bloodied. He'd punched the wall instead of my mother. She hadn't held back on him though, since he had a bright red handprint on his cheek where she'd slapped him. They'd decided on a divorce less than a week before, and things had just gotten worse between them since then. They were screaming at each other, and me and my brother and sister were huddled in a corner, watching. Amara was crying, but me and Kaleb weren't. I got so angry, angrier than I'd ever felt before. And I tried to stop them. That was a stupid mistake."

Rae's hand that held the knife sagged a little, and Sylar stayed silent as he watched her blink away the tears that had suddenly welled up in her eyes. Just like before at the bar, Sylar found himself completely drawn into Rae's story. He could almost see the scene unfold in his mind's eye: a sixteen-year-old Rae Freeman struggling to break up the fight between her enraged parents while her siblings watched fearfully from the sidelines.

"I shouted at them to stop it, that they were scaring us. Dad looked like he was going to do as I said, but mom turned on me instead. She was beyond furious at that point. She called me a dirty little whore, said I was a disgrace, that it was all my fault our family was falling apart and couldn't I see how everyone would be much better off if I wasn't around. She told me that she wished she'd never given birth to me. That was too much for me. I was so overwhelmed with rage that all I could see was red. I can't remember anything that happened after that until I was woke up alone on the living room carpet, covered and surrounded by so much _blood_. I literally saw red then. I'd killed them all. Mom, dad, Kaleb and Amara. Being ripped apart by shadows wasn't how they deserved to die. Even mom didn't deserve that."

A single tear dripped from her long eyelashes and slid lazily down her cheek. Instinctively, Sylar reached out and brushed it away with the back of his free hand. Rae looked up at him and gave him a small grateful smile that made some, if not most, of his previous anger ebb away.

"I ran away after that and started a new life for myself somewhere far from there. Nobody came looking for me. Everyone thought I'd died with my family in some freak accident. Several years passed and I'd got myself a house, a career and a fiancé. I thought I was finally normal. I hid my powers and kept my emotions carefully guarded so I wouldn't accidentally kill anyone the same way again. I was so in love with my fiancé, but when I caught him in our bed with another woman… Well, you can guess what happened."

Sylar could guess alright. An older blood-splattered Rae Freeman standing alone in another blood-splattered room.

"You lost control." He said, a little surprised at how soft and empathetic his voice had turned. Rae chuckled dryly, smiling ruefully up at him.

"I went batshit crazy." She corrected. Sylar released her wrist and she let her hand fall back down to her side, loosely holding the knife between crimson stained fingers.

"They caught me after that. Somehow they knew all about me, my past, my ability. Everything. All I can remember of the day they took me was that I came home from work, and the moment I walked into the kitchen, someone attacked me from behind. Held their hand over my mouth until I fell unconscious. I couldn't use my power to get away because there were two of them, and the other just so happened to be the Haitian. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a concrete cell, strapped down to a table, high as a freaking kite thanks to all the drugs they'd pumped into me."

Rae glanced down at the floor for a moment before she brought her head back up to look Sylar in the eye, the expression on her face suddenly so devious that Sylar wondered how she even had the facial muscles to pull it off.

"Anyway, that's enough of the sob stories for now." Rae grinned, all tears and sadness gone in an instant to be replaced by a familiar impish glee. "We were playing a game, remember?"

She didn't even give him chance to answer before she swung back her arm and let fly, her fist colliding solidly with Sylar's ruggedly handsome face. The sickening crunch of cartilage accompanied with a burst of white-hot pain that spread through his entire skull left no doubt in Sylar's mind that his nose was broken as he staggered backwards in surprise, almost toppling over onto the leather sofa behind him. Blood streamed down from both nostrils as he flung both his hands up to his face to crack his nose back into place for it to heal properly.

Rae hadn't moved from her spot in front of him, but her fists were clenched and raised, ready to deliver another bone-crunching punch. She'd dropped her knife and it lay forgotten on the carpet by her feet. Why she'd suddenly decided to attack him with hand-to-hand combat rather than sticking the knife in him or using her powers was a mystery to Sylar. As she said, she was 'capable of just about anything even with the smallest of shadows'. So why didn't she try to tear him to shreds with her ability like she had done to so many people before?

Her wound was still bleeding profusely, but she ignored it. Instead of slowing her down, it seemed to be doing the opposite. Rae Freeman looked to be more fired up than ever.

"That's for stabbing me in the shoulder." She told him as he straightened up, glaring murderously at her as he wiped the scarlet liquid from his face with his sleeve.

"I guess I deserved that." Sylar agreed, inclining his head to her. Then, without warning, he lunged towards her. Expecting it, Rae swung for him again, but he ducked at the last moment and caught her fist in his larger palm as it sailed harmlessly over his head. He spun her round in his arms so her back was pressed against his chest, grabbing her jaw with one hand while he twisted her arm painfully up her back with the other. Rae cried out and started to struggle violently against him. Sylar easily stopped that just by pulling her arm up her back another couple of inches, taking sadistic delight at the louder hiss of pain she gave in response.

"Don't fight me." He murmured in her ear, her hair silky and soft against his skin. He moved his hand up from her jaw, once again aiming at her forehead with two fingers outstretched. "It will all be over soon, I promise."

"The Hell it will!" Rae snarled in response, driving her elbow back into his stomach so hard that Sylar felt all the air leave his lungs instantly. But that was the least of his problems, since Rae didn't intend to just stop there. She reached up behind her when he unwillingly released her as he fought to get his breath back, grabbing hold of his head in her hands before twisting away from him without letting go. As awful as the sound of his nose breaking had been, it was nothing compared to the horrific noise that wrenched through the air as Sylar's neck snapped, leaving his head cocked at a sickeningly unnatural angle.

Sylar's eyes were blank and glassy for a few seconds before he blinked and the twin pools of dark brown cleared back to their usual cold hypnotic state. The expression on his face was mildly irritated as he took hold of his head and jerked it back into its proper place with another wince-worthy crack of bone against bone.

Rae backed away from him, her nose wrinkled in repulsion. But even she couldn't disguise the awe in her steely grey eyes.

"Now that's just disgusting." She said with a grin. Sylar didn't return it. He'd had enough of this so-called _game_. He'd come here for one reason and one reason only, and that reason wasn't to play cat and mouse with this unusual fearless young woman who'd had absolutely no self-preservation in her body until he grabbed her from behind and that survival instinct finally kicked in. Obviously it hadn't lasted long, since she was now back to her previous suicidal teasing ways. Who would be crazy enough to bait a superpowered serial killer capable of severing the top of their head without even touching them? Well, a crazy person, naturally. Or someone just like that serial killer. Gabriel Gray and Rae Freeman. The serial killer and the mass-murderer. Oh, the irony.

With a flick of his fingers, Rae was sent flying back through the air until her body slammed into the wall behind her with enough force to make the entire house shudder. Her legs dangled a good couple of metres from the floor and Sylar held her there with his telekinesis. All her motor skills were completely overruled by his power and she could do little more than blink, breathe and talk.

Rae gasped heavily in pain and coughed, a bloody string splattering from her lips to the floor. Sylar sidestepped it without a second glance as he moved slowly towards the suspended young woman, his gaze so greedy and predatory that Rae's heart literally skipped a beat in her chest as fear clawed its way up her spine. But Rae Freeman would be damned before she let it show on her face. And Sylar could see that determination in her eyes. At least she had the grace to die with dignity.

"Now hold still." Sylar purred, grinning in warped amusement at his own words. He half expected Rae to fire back at him with one of her smartass sarcastic comments, to give him one last parting shot before he killed her, but to his surprise she stayed silent, her eyelids sliding shut over her grey irises as though she'd resigned herself to her fate.

Sylar couldn't deny it. He was disappointed. At first he'd wanted her fear, but now he found himself wanting nothing more than to see one last burst of Rae Freeman's fiery mischievous personality before he buried his hands inside her brain.

He grit his teeth and clenched his jaw to retain the disappointment, and for the fourth and final time, pointed his fingers at Rae Freeman's forehead.

And she opened her eyes.

They were blue again, that breathtakingly beautiful sparkling ocean blue that drew him in so amazingly. People say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and at that moment, Sylar couldn't agree more. Rae Freeman's soul was bared out to him, swimming in those twin orbs of sapphire.

Sylar mentally cursed himself and shook his head, trying to get a grip. Rae watched him, surveying him steadily, no other emotion but a total serene calm expression on her face.

"I want to kill you." Sylar growled, growing increasingly angry with himself as he tried to command his fingers to slice across her head, but they didn't move. "I _want_ to kill you. I do! _I want to kill you!_"

"Then kill me." Rae replied, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Her voice was as tranquil as her features and that made him even more furious and determined. Sylar shifted his weight slightly, his teeth bared into a vicious snarl as he steeled himself to try again.

"Do it." Rae murmured, blinking freely down at him. Sylar felt beads of sweat break out on his forehead as his hand aimed at her shook from the mental exertion. "Just do it. Kill me, Gabriel."

As soon as his name left her lips, all the fury and resolution escaped his body instantaneously. His shoulders slumped forwards as his hand fell back to his side.

"I can't." He whispered, his baritone voice a mixture of disbelief and exhaustion. His telekinetic hold pinning Rae to the wall broke and she fell back down to the floor below. She would've landed in a graceless heap on the carpet if it hadn't been for the warm hands that reached out to catch and steady her at the last moment.

Rae stared up at Sylar, cerulean blue meeting the darkest richest chocolate brown for the longest moment.

"I can't kill you." He said, as though the sentence was a dark personal secret he hadn't wanted to reveal. Rae smiled genuinely up at him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing eyes?" She asked with a slightly embarrassed soft breathy laugh. Yet another endearing trait for this remarkable beautiful woman stood before him. Sylar's lips twitched as he unsuccessfully fought back a smile of his own.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a death wish, Rae Freeman?" Sylar countered. Rae chuckled in response. Neither of them seemed to realise that they'd moved closer together, and now Rae's hands were splayed against Sylar's firm chest as his hand rested at the small of her back.

"Only every other day." She grinned. Sylar grinned back before he reached around with one hand and gently tugged the bobble from Rae's hair, sending the long russet waves cascading down around her shoulders. Rae shot him a quizzical look and he shrugged.

"You look better with your hair down." He said. And then he kissed her.

She tasted so much better than he'd imagined, and her slim body seemed to fit perfectly against his. His hands were entangled in her luscious mane of silky brown hair and her arms slid around his neck, holding him like she never wanted to let go. Not that Sylar had any intention of letting go. The desire that pulsed through his entire body now was more than desire for Rae's power. It was desire for Rae herself.

"Say my name." Sylar purred against Rae's soft pink lips.

"Sylar…" She moaned in response, kissing him deeper.

"No… my real name."

"_Gabriel…_"

That one word was the sound of the leash on his restraint well and truly snapping. He let out a feral growl and picked Rae up in his strong arms, ready to throw her down onto the nearest surface and sate his desire. Rae's long legs locked around his waist and she broke their liplock for a brief moment to whisper in his ear.

"Hold on tight." She said, and immediately after Sylar felt the strangest sensation of every part of his body being squeezed simultaneously. He could still feel Rae wrapped around him, her lips lavishing sweet kisses to his in a wonderfully distracting way, but his vision was completely black. When the darkness gradually began to recede and the pair found themselves back in Rae's bedroom, Sylar realised what she'd done. And he also realised that his earlier assumption had been right. Travelling through shadows _was_ like walking through thick tar.

The bed was straight behind them, so blatantly inviting that Sylar just had to untangle Rae's legs from around him and lower the young woman down onto the silk sheets as though she was a delicate and fragile as porcelain. He caught sight of her shoulder and saw the wound was still leaking crimson down her tanned chest. Rae didn't even acknowledge it, her sights set on nothing but the man stood before her.

Rae noticed him hesitate a moment as he stared down at her uncertainly and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not made of glass, Gabriel. I won't break." She sighed, arranging her body into a deliberately suggestive pose accompanied with that impish smirk he loved to hate, and it made Sylar's heart jump up into his throat.

"I could break you." Sylar replied dangerously, a challenging gleam in his suddenly fiery brown eyes. Rae chuckled, tossing her hair over one shoulder and baring her delicious throat to him.

"I'd like to see you try." She grinned, sealing the deal.

Sylar smirked at the mysterious and fearless young woman that lay on the bed in front of him, and couldn't help but laugh as he thought that this wasn't exactly how he'd envisioned tonight would end.

Not that he was complaining. And obviously neither was she.

Gabriel Gray and Rae Freeman. The serial killer and the mass-murderer.

Sylar had finally met his match, and by God, he'd never felt so alive.

* * *

**So what d'you think? Drop me a review and let me know! :D**

**Keep a lookout for part three! **

**See ya! **

**XxXxX**


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